Marking the 40th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is to be shown on the big screen at the National Space Centre this weekend.

On Saturday visitors can sit back at the UK's largest planetarium, the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, and immerse themselves in one of science fiction's all-time classics.

Steven Spielberg directs the sci-fi film, which stars Richard Dreyfuss as power line repairman Roy Neary, who has a close encounter with an alien spacecraft when he is sent out to investigate a mysterious power surge one night.

Roy then becomes obsessed with five musical notes and a strange image in his head, estranging himself from his wife (Teri Garr) in the process.

The National Space Centre is the venue for a recording of The Kitchen Cabinet

He also discovers that he is not alone in his experiences, and joins others as they are drawn to the site of a visitation by an alien ship.

Made on a production budget of $20million, Close Encounters was released in a limited number of cities on November 16, 1977 and November 23, 1977 before expanding into wide release the following month.

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It was a critical and financial success, eventually grossing more than $337 million worldwide.

The film received numerous awards and nominations, and has been widely acclaimed by the American Film Institute. In December 2007 it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.